Part 1
An explanation of the legal status and principles of the EYF and how national and local guidance materials are used in settings
The legal status and principles of the Early Years Foundation stage is used with children aged from birth to five years. The Government have outlined three primary and four specific areas and seventeen early learning goals that they think are important to a child’s development and planning is used to meet a child’s individual needs.
An explanation of how different approaches to work with children in early years have affected current provision in the UK
Over the years many people have made studies of what they believe were the important factors in providing for children’s needs. All of these pioneers believed that there should be an integrated approach to the early years provision. One of these pioneers that had the greatest influence was Freidrich Froebel. Froebel founded the first kindergarten in 1840 and learned how important it was for children to have real experiences and to be physically active, learning outdoors as well as indoors. He believed that schools should be communities where parents could join their children, and that parents were the first educators of children.
Other pioneers were Maria Montessori who devised a structured teaching programme based on watching children with learning difficulties and building on the work of Froebel. She have a different view to him in some areas, for example believing that children should learn to work alone to help them become independent learners and did not see the benefit of play. Rudolf Steiner believed that the first seven years of a childs life were the most important and that they needed a carefully planned environment to develop in a rounded way.
Margaret McMillan used many of Froebel’s ideas and thought that play was very important. She believed that nurseries were an extension of the home and not a